Lost Saga's Heroes
by ZekeWildfire
Summary: Everyone in the world needs someone to look up to. Someone they want to emulate. Some people want to be like Superman, others want to be a war veteran. Still others just want to be thought of highly. Admired, by people they love or maybe just people around them. This isn't a story about that at all. Shade and I are just trying to get food on the table. By doing what we do best.
1. Chapter 1

"Haley... Are you still moping about this wedding?" a young woman's voice asked, sizing up her dress. A younger girl sat in a chair in front of a mirror, leaning back in the seat with a bored expression on her face. A flicker of frustration flashed in her eyes as she glanced for a moment at her cousin before redirecting her gaze back to the mirror.

"I don't even know the guy. Don't I get a choice? I don't want to just be pawned off as a peace offering."

"Oh, don't think of it like that..." Alexis kept trying to cheer Haley up, moving away then back toward her with three extravagant wedding dresses on a rack. "Here's a choice: Which do you like best?"

Haley looked between them, eyes half closed.

"That one," she said, pointing to the one on the right, "is way too frilly."

"That one," she then pointed at the one in the middle, "has too many ribbons. That really makes me look gift-wrapped."

"And the last one is too short." She leaned back, arms crossed.

"Oh, come on... It's like this whole idea doesn't excite you at all!" she continued on, sighing, her heart aflutter as she whisked the three away, producing two more.

"You're finally catching on." Haley just buried her face in her hands. She didn't want to even look at the dresses. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Miss Rayne, you're wanted in the courtyard," said a much older and refined male voice.

"Oh! That must be hiiiim!" she said in a sing-song voice.

"Kill me now..." Haley unsuccessfully tried to arrange her face into a more pleasant expression, then returned her face to her hands as a second resort.

"What if you like him? You'll never know if you don't try..." Alexis sighed to herself, patting down her casual dress. "Try," she smiled.

"Prince-type, likely an intelligence stat of 2. Willing to marry whatever girl is thrown at him. Just the kind of guy I like..." The younger girl sighed and stood up, reaching over to pull her hat over her silver hair. Alexis ran over to Haley to tug the hat away from her hair. "And you look MUCH better without that stupid hat on..." She pulled at her hand. "Come onnnn!" Haley reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled away, grateful that at least she hadn't been made to try on any dresses; she was still dressed in her own uniform, which looked more like a soldier's uniform than that of royalty, though it was more elegant than a typical soldier's garb.

As the two of them were escorted by the servant in front of the door to the courtyard, Alexis could barely keep her excitement contained. Haley was ready to stab herself in the throat.

"If you want him, I leave him to you..." Haley muttered, venom in her voice. Alexis was blissfully unaware.

"I wonder what his eyes look like... Oh! And his hair! He's got to have neat and trimmed hair... ohh, but if it's messy, he'd look so cool~!"

When they arrived, there were a few people of the nearby kingdom, most of them surrounding a carriage, presumably containing the prince. Haley looked over at Alexis, who was balancing on her toes trying to peer over the crowd for a glimpse of the prince. She simply sighed and crossed her arms, thinking to herself about what a bad idea this whole thing was.

The prince stepped out of his horse-drawn chariot, putting his hand to calm his crowd. The women were figuratively falling at his feet as they touched the grass. Haley looked at the women vying for his attention. Silently, she judged them.

"People, please..." he quickly turned his head to the side, his eyes closed, his hair flipping in the wind. All sound was silenced for just a moment, while he slowly opened his eyes.

"One at a time." he smiled. By then, about 99 percent of the females in the area were either swooning or just had a heart attack.

Eventually, his eyes laid on his princess, and happiness overtook him. His peach colored skin was a perfect compliment for his chestnut brown hair, combed to droop over one of his eyes. Though most of his mouth was shaded by the large, upward collar protruding from his light purple suit, which happened to be adorned with golden embellishments. Atop his head laid a bright blue, yet tiny crown, tilted slightly to side. But that wasn't his most striking feature, according to many. No, that would be his beautiful baby blue eyes. Most women would faint just by catching a glimpse of them. Haley was less than impressed.

She looked at his outfit. _Cliché. _She looked up to his hair._ Cliché. _She briefly glanced at his eyes, which held little appeal to her. _Cliché._ She looked up at the tiny crown. _Bingo._ Alexis squealed in excitement, squeezing Haley's hands, bouncing up and down in her shoes.

"OhmyGOSH, isn't he so beautiful?!" she whispered fervently in Haley's ear. To those who lack taste... Haley kept the thought inside. Her expression remained passive, emotionless.

"Is this the lovely Miss Rayne?" he stated coolly, stepping toward Haley. By this point, Alexis would have almost broken Haley's hand in her grip had she been stronger than her.

"I think your princess is in a different castle..." Haley stated blankly. "There are plenty of girls here who would willingly take her place, though." _Just not this one._

"Oh come now," he stated, remaining calm, unlike most men that dared turn to Haley with such ideals. "There may be plenty, but none just as perfect as the one I'm going to be wed to."

"What a lucky girl. But you're probably in the wrong place. You were supposed to take a left at the fork in the road about a hundred miles back."_ Don't I wish... _If he had, he'd be traveling through the desert with his pretty prancing ponies.

"Oh, be serious, Haley!" Alexis tugged on Haley's sleeve, nudging her toward the man afterward.

"Yes..." he placed a hand on her cheek, looking into her eyes with a smirk that could kill anyone else. "Be serious, Haley."

Reflexively, her free hand tightened on the hilt of the sword sheathed at her side, before she forced it to relax. "Serious, huh? In that case, I'm done playing charades." She reached up, snatched the crown off the top of his head, and calmly turned and walked away, raising a hand in farewell.

"Haley, where are yo-" Alexis began before being silenced by the prince.

"Shh... She'll come around. I know she will." He continued smiling, his eyes slipping closed as he spun around, returning to his carriage.

Haley returned to her room, throwing the crown to the side, slumping down against the door, and burying her face in her hands. She had almost lost control when he started coming on to her, and things were close to getting ugly. She let out a sigh of frustration, unable to suppress the feeling that, as royalty, she was nothing but a puppet for everyone else to make dance around according to their whims. She tried to force her mind to go blank before her thoughts turned more violent. She hauled herself to her feet and quickly crossed the floor to her bed, falling face-first onto it, wishing sleep could come faster and drown out her reality.

_"Alright... So it's a simple kidnap?"_

_"Not just simple... Your target is very precious and heavily guarded..."_

_"Like we're not used to that by now. How much?"_

_"Ah... we can discuss your payment once you've brought the target to the destination..."_

_"You sure we can trust him?"_

_"Hmm... How about this as a deal breaker. We'll take your life if you don't pay us. Deal?"_

_The sound of a blade being unsheathed silenced the room._

_"D-deal..."_

* * *

"zeke zeke upload more elsword story"

DAMNIT I'M TOO BUSY PLAYING LOST SAGA

Yeah, I've got nowhere really to go with the other story, but if inspiration hits me, hell, why not pick it up. Until then, I hope this can tide you over. And there WILL be decent update times for this one, so stick around. See you guys!


	2. Chapter 2

Two cloaked figures slowly approached the castle gates. It was night time by now, and the cover of the clouds only darkened the grounds further. There weren't many guards on patrol at such an hour, but still enough to be able to stop any intrusion.

"Halt! State your name, profession, and reason for being at the Rayne Castle at such a late hour!" shouted a guard to the newcomers. No response.

"I said SPEAK!" he shouted once more, in a more commanding tone. "Or we WILL use force!"

"Fun part?"

"Fun part."

Both of the hooded figures suddenly disappeared from their positions, one in a puff of smoke, the other in a wispy shroud of darkness. The guards could barely exclaim, much less react, before their lives were cut tragically short. The bodies were dragged away from sight, as the hooded figures glanced toward the nearby courtyard, being patrolled by an Iron Knight. One silhouette made hand gestures to the other, who nodded. The latter disappeared in the same dark shroud as the former jumped off of the guard post.

The Knight turned around in surprise, only to find a scythe through his stomach and a hand over his mouth to keep him from screaming. The scythe was then jerked away, along with the poor knight's life, who dropped to the ground. The other person threw a knife toward a nearby window, the knife being tagged with a small piece of burning paper. In an instant, he appeared next to the knife, clinging to the gutters of the roof, and glanced in the window. What he saw was exactly what he needed, and as such, he let a chain slip from his sleeve down to the ground where his presumed partner was standing. The chain was grabbed onto, and he was hoisted up, and into the window, followed by his teleporting friend.

"Alright, is this the girl?..." the first one asked, pulling his hood off, shaking his head, his roughly cut, jet black hair swaying with his movements. He opened his jade-colored eyes, surveying the area, making sure that no one else would interfere.

"Yeah. Let's make this short and sweet." The latter took his hood off as well, patting his hair back down, out of his eyes, his small ponytail lightly blowing from the open window's air. He took a step forward only to realize his partner was suddenly very distracted.

"Shade, get the hell off of that; you don't even know what it is..." He balled a fist at his teammate, who was playing with the tiny crown in the corner of the room.

"But Zeke," Shade began. "It's so adorableeeee..." Shade tossed it around in his hands before Zeke kicked it back into the corner. "Aw."

There was the sound of shifting behind them, and then, "Oh thank god you're here."

Almost instantly, the two whipped around, hands ready to brandish their weapons; Zeke on his katana's hilt, and Shade on his scythe's pole. The girl didn't seem perturbed; rather, she jumped off of the bed.

"Make it quick. Please. I'm sick of this shit."

A howling wind blew through the room for a moment, while Zeke and Shade looked at the girl.

Moments passed.

Shade coughed.

More moments passed.

"What." Zeke said, blankly.

"You're assassins, right? Do your job. Get it over with. Don't ask questions."

"Don't compare us to those common assassins... We don't hide like little bitches." Shade mumbled, looking down. Zeke gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"I never said you did. You murder people, yes? We've all got our trades. And I am looking forward to taking up decomposition as my profession."

Another moment of silence.

"Uh... sorry, lady..." Zeke took a step closer, his gaze not breaking from the girl, nor his hand from his katana. "That's not why we're here..."

She sighed. "Ah, well..." She ran a hand through her hair, an exasperated look on her face. Her eyes turned to the intruders, the look in them sharpening. "Why are you here, then?"

Shade glanced at Zeke, who caught his gaze, replying with a shrug.

"Kind of elaborate for a couple of guys looking to grab a girl for the night."

"You calling me a rapist?" Shade perked up.

"It's a possibility. If you are, you probably won't get out of here in one piece."

"Eh... Better than a murderer..." Shade's head dropped as he mumbled again. Zeke took the floor again.

"Look. Just keep your mouth shut and we won't hurt you. Shade, shackle. I'm gonna get us a way out of here." Zeke walked back over to the window, eyeing the distance from the room to the gates.

Her eyes flashed dangerously. "I wouldn't be making threats if I were you. Don't insult me. You would only be able to kill me if I made it easy for you like I was earlier."

"Don't underestimate me or Shade either. I'll break you down in less than a minute. Judging by your scrawny body structure and your obvious lack of refinement, I'm pretty sure the only weapon you have is a sharp tongue." Zeke shot back, coldly, flinging a tagged knife out of the window with skill, over the gate.

"Try me." Haley said flatly, walking over to her chair and pulling on her hat.

"Don't give me a reason to." Zeke retorted in the same manner. "Shade, have you finished y-" He turned around to find Shade playing with the crown again.

"And I'm gonna name you... and we're gonna have adventures." Shade said, twirling the crown in his hands.

Haley sat down and leaned back in her chair. "I have no intention of doing so. Only you will give yourself a reason to. I'm not going anywhere I don't agree to."

"Says you." Zeke said, moving from the window, back toward the girl to do the job he had assigned Shade before he discovered his new plaything. Zeke held his hand out as chains quickly shot out from his outfit's sleeve, headed for the girl. A strange light entered her eyes but she didn't move as the chains wrapped around her. Then, in a sudden burst of bluish aura, her body changed almost instantaneously. Sharp ears, pricked attentively, turned toward Zeke as a tail swished. She was larger, and... furrier. Her body was covered in bluish fur, and her nails were long, and ended in deadly points. She was no longer human, for sure, but still distinguishable from the animal whose traits she shared.

As the metal of the chains burst off of the new form the girl had taken, Zeke and Shade were thrown back by the sudden burst of energy. "The hell?!" Zeke bit his tongue, keeping himself quiet, remembering that this mission still required stealth.

The werewolf dropped to all fours with a growl. It was hard to tell where her gaze was fixated; her eyes were glowing with bright blue light, no pupils visible. There was a pause.

"Fun part's over?..." Shade whispered.

"Yeah, dude... Fun part's over..." Zeke agreed. Turns out he had miscalculated this girl's ability. But he knew just as well as she did that any sort of loud noise would wake the whole mansion. Zeke tried his best to keep his cool, Shade doing the same. The pause remained as the two stood, eyeing the werewolf down.

There was one thing that Zeke didn't know; Haley's reaction was one of anger, but she had no concern over her own life. She leaped at the cloaked man, her claws extended in a slash as she roared.

"Shit! Shade, cover me!" Zeke backflipped, narrowly avoiding the claws, onto the windowsill, just as Shade dashed forward, scythe pulled back, ready to attack. Unfortunately, Haley's wits hadn't abandoned her with her humanity. She ducked under the blade, pressing low to the ground, then lunged, crashing into Zeke's stomach and throwing him and herself out of the window. Shade watched on in awe for just a moment before placing his foot on the windowsill, ready to jump. He caught a signal from Zeke telling him to wait, and, against his better judgement, he complied.

Still in freefall, Zeke rolled around to the other side of the werewolf, shoving her toward the ground, ready to use her as a shock absorber, since in her current form, she'd be much more capable of living through a fall of that height. His furry foe, though, didn't much enjoy this idea. She thrashed but was unable to throw him off, and as the ground rapidly approached, she braced herself for impact, landing on all fours, the combined weight forcing her clawed hands and feet to sink into the earth of the courtyard. She jumped to free her limbs, then rolled over, intending to crush the man on her back. Zeke cursed his luck, and tossed a tagged knife to another point in the courtyard, specifically toward his partner. The girl rolled and landed flat on her back, a small dust cloud stirring around her landing site. She rolled back to her feet, panting and growling in frustration, looking over at Zeke, who had teleported, then at Shade standing next to him, but she held her ground.

"Any ideas?" Zeke whispered. Shade shook his head before dropping to the courtyard grounds, brandishing his weapon. Still she hadn't moved, but by now she had noticed the body of the Iron Knight the two had left in the courtyard, then turned back to the two with her eyes blazing. She crouched, watching their movements carefully, ready to spring. Shade pulled his scythe back, glaring directly at the girl, his eyes flashing a deep purple for a moment, before rocketing toward her at an unnatural speed, swinging upward. Rather than springing at him, she jumped back, a clawed hand reaching out to a medium-sized garden rock and hurling it at her attacker. Though the scythe did easily cleave the rock in two halves, Shade didn't manage to get as far as he wanted, instead heading upward in a crescent fashion before descending toward the ground. The werewolf circled warily around him, aware of the fact that she had to deal with two armed and dangerous enemies. She tried to keep them both in her sight at all times, though it was impossible to tell where her glowing blue eyes were focused.

Suddenly, in a burst of flame, Zeke stood infront of the girl, obscuring her vision of Shade, and the chains from his sleeves came forth once more. She barked as a chain wrapped around her arm, and snapped it with a powerful bite, though the move distracted her for a moment. With a ghastly whisper haunting the wind, Shade stood behind the girl, the same chains snaking out of his robe as well. She found herself immobilized, but thrashed on the ground, daring either of them to come within range of her claws. The two looked down at the girl as the chains continued to wrap around her. Zeke glanced back to her window, and the obvious signs of a struggle in the courtyard.

"We're out, Shade." Zeke muttered, putting his hood back on as Shade did the same. He picked up the shackled body of the princess, placing his other hand on Zeke's shoulder, and the three of them promptly disappeared.

They reappeared outside the castle gates, at the tag Zeke had thrown earlier, which had manage to land in a nearby tree. The werewolf was still struggling and snarling, trying to free herself enough to land a blow. Zeke kicked her in the head.

"Cool it, you stupid bitch." Zeke grumbled.

"It's funny 'cause she's a dog." Shade remarked.

If looks could kill, the girl's would. She kept struggling, ready for another round.

Zeke, by this point, was much angrier than he normally would be in a situation like this, and tightened a fist, punching the girl across the face. "I said, shut UP!" She snapped, missing his hand by an inch. Her tail lashed in frustration, but she kept growling defiantly. Zeke pulled his fist back, gritting his teeth. "How many times do I have to-"

Shade grabbed his friend's arm. "Zeke. Let's just get out of here, man..." The girl continued to glare at him, obviously ready to take whatever he threw at her simply for the sake of defying him. Zeke glared back, obviously teeming with rage, his fist shaking slightly. After a second, Zeke's fist dropped as he shut his red eyes. "Yeah. You're leading, where to?"

Shade produced a map from the inner lining of his robe, opening it and reading it over for a few seconds. Zeke glanced down at the girl before returning his eyes to Shade. Shade flipped the map upside down, prompting Zeke to sigh heavily.

"Okay, NOW I've got it. We have to go to the border of Legion territory, northwest. It's... near an active volcano. Huh."

The werewolf laid her ears back. Great. They're gonna throw me in a volcano. Great way to go, burned into a drumstick.

"A volcano?..." Zeke pondered. "That's an odd request. Y'think he's gonna..."

"No idea, bro. We're probably gonna find out though." Shade shrugged, turning in the direction that they needed to go. He whistled, as two horses came from out of nearby bushes. Zeke walked up to them and pet them. Good girls... he whispered under his breath. Zeke jumped up onto the brown one while Shade commandeered the black one, placing the shackled wolf conveniently on the back of the saddle, which he then attached the chains to. She still growled, refusing to give up even though the fight and the struggle had taken so much of her energy. Zeke couldn't help glancing back at the girl, biting back a tinge of regret.

"Sorry I hit you so hard..." Zeke sighed, not wanting the girl to even hear, saying it more to clear his own conscience. She didn't even look at him, though her sharp ears caught his quiet words. She wasn't going to let it go so easily. He knew she wouldn't forgive him, either. With a bittersweet victory, Zeke and Shade took off for their next destination, Haley in tow.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun was high in the sky now. The three continued on their journey, and by noon, had gone far. They entered the vast desert, in the Midwestern region of the Order controlled territories. The werewolf had been struggling for hours, but now, between the effort she had been making and the heat of the sun, she was at the end of her energy and stopped trying to get out, subdued. The sun hadn't just caused the girl to tire out, but Zeke and Shade as well.

"Damnit, I'm gonna die if I don't get something to drink..." Zeke sighed, looking at his empty canteen. Shade nodded in agreement.

"What are we gonna do, though? We kinda have a hostage..." He questioned Zeke, who simply shrugged as a reply. The captive herself was barely conscious at this point, breathing heavily. There was the same burst of dark smoke that had accompanied her earlier transformation as she reverted to her normal, human form.

Zeke took note of this, and as such, pulled the horses to a stop behind a nearby lodge.

"Alright, alright..." Zeke placed his hands on the chains which, by now, were starting to get pretty hot. He winced from the heat, but after a moment, most of the chains shattered like glass. There were only a few remaining, on her wrists and ankles, keeping her bound to the horse.

"C'mon. I know someone who would give us some shelter from this heat." Shade smiled.

Shade lead Zeke to a small hut on the outskirts of the town, Zeke almost collapsing from exhaustion. Shade slid off of his horse and knocked on the door. There was giggling that could be heard from inside.

"You know a bunch of hookers?" Zeke questioned, looking up at the door.

"Better." Shade replied, opening the door and walking in, motioning for Zeke to follow. Zeke's head tilted to the side questioningly before he got off of his horse, looking over at the girl. He walked over and shook the chains.

"Hey. You still alive?" There was no response; she could have been unconscious, or simply ignoring him. Both were likely scenarios. Zeke, however, wanted neither. He smacked her across the face. "Wake up and answer me!" He commanded in a harsh tone. Her eyes opened, a death glare in them, but she didn't say or do anything else. Zeke looked back in hers, equally as annoyed, before scoffing, turning, and walking into the shade of the house. Zeke jerked the girl from the horse with a scowl, attaching the chains to the house's fence which, thankfully, was also shaded. She simply closed her eyes, more willing to stay outside than go anywhere with him.

"Hey Shade, where are you, man?" Zeke said, following the sounds of the laughter he had been hearing in the house. He brushed some beads, acting like curtains, to the side as he entered one of the few rooms, lavishly adorned with jungle-based furniture and decor; giant leaves along the walls, a makeshift rug from dried grass, and other such things. Shade was sitting, laughing away with his friends, two people, a guy and a girl, both dressed in tiger skins, wearing their heads as hoods. The girl's tail had a little bow on the end of it, and the guy's tiger claws were painted a nice shade of pink.

Shade lifted his drink to his partner. "And this is Zeke!"

There was an awkward silence while Zeke just stared.

"Hello..." he started slowly, before shaking his head. "Nice to meet you?..."

"Ohmygosh~! It's nice to meet you too~!" the girl sprang up, walking on all fours over to Zeke. Zeke took a step back, but she stood up and extended her hand. It was tipped with pretty deadly-looking claws. Zeke, wincing, took her hand, trying to avoid the sharp edges, and shook it.

"Iiiiii'm Veronicaaaa..." she smiled. "And that guy over there is Stefan."

Zeke looked in Stefan's direction, acknowledging him with a nod. Stefan replied with a wink, clawing the air toward him with a growl. Zeke took in a deep breath.

"Did Shade tell you about what we needed?" Zeke asked, trying to get the conversation back to something important.

"About how you needed someone to sleep with?" Stefan replied.

"A PLACE-" Zeke started, before clearing his throat. "A place to, uh, sleep in."

"Yes, he told us~ And we're perfectly willing to let you stay as long as you need to!" Veronica exclaimed, still shaking Zeke's hand enthusiastically.

"Uh, okay, thanks." Zeke said, finally jerking his hand from the girl's grip.

"As _long_ as you need to..." Stefan purred.

Veronica was bouncing around. "We can stay up all night and play games! Ooh, ooh! Truth or daaare~!"

"Dare!" Stefan raised his hand.

"I'm going to get some air." Zeke hurried out of the room, back outside.

"It's never easy..." He sighed, looking over at the girl in chains. Her eyes were closed once more; she simply looked as though she was sleeping. Zeke looked up at the sky, squinting at the sun, then at the desert that lay stretched out before him.

"Fuckin' shit... This is gonna take forever..."

The chugging of the 1:00 PM train rolled on as Zeke's eyes drooped in the shade of the house, almost falling asleep. Suddenly, before he could fully close them, his eyes were snapped open at the sound of gunshots.

"The hell?!" Zeke jumped up, glancing around. He noticed about eight cowboys horse-riding right next to the train, firing at it, yelling, and just making noise.

"God damnit... I feel like I'm in a western film..." Zeke slumped back down and his eyes started to close again. _Sleepy..._

The two tigers burst out of their house, the door swinging wide open, almost Zeke, who fell sideways in surprise. "DAMNIT!"

"What's going on!?" Veronica cried, holding on to Stefan's arm.

"Zeke?" Stefan caught a glimpse of Zeke, who was still grounded from the confusion, brushing the dust off of himself. Shade then walked out past the two of them, holding his hand out to help Zeke up. "What's going on?"

"Just some stupid kids playing with guns and a train... Nothing we should concern ourselves with, Shade..." Zeke sighed, looking at the train fading in the distance.

"Oh no..." Stefan put his hand to his mouth.

"Is that the 1 PM train?..." Veronica quietly wondered. Stefan's nod confirmed it.

"Those cowboys were holding up the train! They intend to take the money on it, don't they?!" the female tiger wildly cried.

Zeke turned to the two, who were already looking at him.

"Oh no." he took a step back.

"Not even. Don't you even think about it." Another step backwards.

Shade slipped over to Zeke. "But what if they pay uuuus..." he whispered.

"I don't give a SHIT if they pay us; I'm not a hero!" Zeke folded his arms.

"Please!" Veronica shouted. "You have to try...!"

Stefan stepped over to Zeke. "For me?" He whispered.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation.

Zeke sighed his trademark heavy sigh. "Not for you, but I'll do it. Shade, let's move."

The two saddled up on their horses and with that, took off for the cowboys and the train.

"Yee-haw!" Shouted one of the cowboys, probably the leader, as he was wearing a much fancier hat than the rest of his crew; a black, high-crowned, wide rimmed, typical cowboy hat. The base of the crown was patterned in a zebra print all the way around, and his clothes, though obviously just as western, matched the colors of his hat.

"We here own this town! Give us all yer money, or y'know what's comin' to ya!" They all laughed as the leader prattled on at the conductor of the train. With more laughter, one of the cowboys pulled out his gun and fired, most likely killing the conductor on the spot.

Zeke and Shade approached the other men, who were unaware of their presence, Shade turning to Zeke.

"This... looks really easy, dude..."

Zeke glanced among the men. Five, six counting the leader. His gaze then fell on him.

Zeke looked at his boots with the spurs.  
_Cliche._

Next was his his lasso, attached to his belt.  
_Cliche._

He could hear his horrible western accent loud and clear.  
_Cliche._

And finally, Zeke saw his hat. A black cowboy hat, wide brimmed, with a zebra-print stripe around the base of the crown.

_Bingo._

"Shade. Get those two grounded, now!" Zeke ordered, flinging a tagged dagger toward the top of the train and another at Shade, before disappearing.

"Finally, some fun..." Shade whispered before putting his hood on and disappearing from his horse, both his and Zeke's continuing to chase the others.


End file.
